The reason we don't want to change.

 

We humans are slow to change and grow. I think pretty much all of my friends and associates would love to be more awake and aware. If for no other reason than it just makes better sense financially, physically, and socially to know more--to be more aware. We make better choices the more awake, (or, "woke") we are.

 

The problem is not that we don't want to change and grow.

The problem is we're afraid we'll change and diminish.

It's the DIMINISH feeling that has us second guessing our choices. It's a fear-based idea, of course, and has no reality at all.

 

However, if we all had it all figured out all the time, we'd never eat factory farmed meat and processed foods again. 

 

But hey. Here we are at Applebee's.

 

I Think We're Building a Better Mousetrap

The return to business as usual in the years of Covid is just not happening, at least it's not happening as we envisioned it. Hopefully, we're all finding slower, smarter ways to work. Without excessive time behind the wheel, putting wear and tear on our infrastructure and our environment. As a species, we're wising up. I think. I could be totally wrong, but I'm a believer. HA! 

 One thing I know:

It's a good time to hire really good people. The good ones are looking for "more conscious" jobs, more ways to "make a difference." While I put quotes around these phrases, I am in total agreement with them. It's the only way to do business.

One thing I know:

 The prices on food and necessities are through the roof. But then, when you think about it, we don't do nearly the running around, the partying that we used to do, pre-Pandemic. So we spend in fewer places.  There's good and bad there, too. 

Just wanted to check in. Post any business questions you have in the comments, please.

Much Aloha

Anne

What I Know So Far.

I know that we are in the biggest business and personal global flux I've experienced in my lifetime on this planet. (We're all fluxed up!) Granted, I wasn't really aware of WWII, and I've forgotten the awful '60s (if you remember, you weren't really there 😄). The country, the planet, all of us seem to be reeling, rearranging ourselves. Some hunkering down for good and some hunkering down for ugly. Life is choice. You get what you put out there. I also know I don't make the rules. It's beyond my pay grade.

 

I know that Angels are real and will work with you. I think that’s their main objective, at least for their work here on Earth. And I also know that it's their pleasure to help if we just call them, give them names and directions, the 411, ask graciously for their help. I call on the four power Angels, the Archangels. I made up a little song when the kids were little about "Michael on the right, Gabriel on the left, Uriel in front, and Rafael behind. We got Angels, Angels everywhere watching over us." That ditty empowered my kids and I'm sure the Angels felt good about being recognized. Or at least, I thought so. 💗

 

I know that when you need an answer and turn to see a blossoming tree showering its beautiful blooms outside your living room window for the longest time, I know that’s a sign from God, the Universe, the great Spirit, whatever you call that good energy. That’s a message of love showing you how abundantly blessed you are, how part of a glorious dimension you are. That we are not alone, as they say. That’s what I know.

 

I know that somehow, I’m learning to heal my body, revitalize it daily. Every day in every way, I'm learning to accept my physicality, my aches and pains, my pleasures and delights, all the same, with a grain of salt, as they say. When I'm emotionally tiptop I'm great, and when I'm emotionally raw or sad, I'm still OK because I'm understanding it more. Growth can be painful. Chemicalization (when you're growing, taking in a new idea and making it yours) can be even physically painful. The ego does not want you to understand this. I know this.

 

Let me know what you know so far--if you have anything good you'd like to share.

Aloha
 

Waves at Waimea Bay. North Shore, Oahu                      

 

Ready for Hillary, Already

I blog because I can. I eat because I must. I exercise because I'm ashamed not to. I die so that I may live? I don't know. I try to be existential about everything, including this never ending acrimonious election and I die. Inside. A little each day. Enough already.

Last blog I posted was 2012--about wanting THAT acrimonious election dirt-digging to be over. Sigh. I sighed then. I sigh now.

I loved what Oprah said to the audience in a recent video interview. And I paraphrase: "I know you may not like Hillary, but so what? She's not coming over to your house!" Indeed. She's the most experienced, prepared, knowledgeable presidential candidate probably ever. And she works for women's, children's and family rights. So, let's get over ourselves, 'Murica, and follow the advice of the TV show host apparently everyone loves--Oprah. Not Drumph. He's only planning, preening, posturing, selling, dividing Americans to gain reality show market clout, anyway. Knowing he's losing, crying "rigged" at every opportunity, he's also busy hustling his new TV channel idea to homeboys like Roger Ailes and friends. Win or lose, we'll still have the Donald. I die.

Never have we sunk so low as to call women despicable names, just to gain voters. America's rascism reared its ugly head with the Obamas in the White House. Now, with Hillary Clinton our next president, watch out ladies. It's gonna get nasty out. Donald said so.

#ImWithHer

We Can Do This.

Hoo boy! Will we all be glad when this is over. Come on November 6th! I'm sighing already. Bu bye acrimony. Hello pal-imony Friendship, alliances, once again moving forward.  All the posturing and pandering finished for a while.

I don't know how politics became such a blood sport, or when. I always paid attention, but it never really seemed this petulant. I mean a candidate can't say, "Where's the loo" without idiots putting it on a YouTube mash up video. Stop already.

Truth is, these two guys just aren't that interesting. Not that it's their fault. They're charming enough, got enough facets. I'd be happy to sit with them at dinner. But enough already. We know too much about them. A little discretion, please. They've been dissected as much as we can, now let’s move on.

Let's move on to ending world hunger, to world peace, and to our lightness of Being. Let's make our concerted efforts be about bettering a person or a people, a species or a place. Or a planet. How about a planet?

We can do this. We can recover from this horrid and seemingly never ending Presidential election of 2012 and think, write, speak and do greatness again. After all, we’re Americans. It’s what we do.

OMG! The System is Corrupt!

I woke up this morning with this urgent message screaming in my head. I was writing copy as I stretched. Must blog. Must lash out the only way I know how. Must do something about our broken political system. Yeah, as if I can. As if any of us can. I stopped trying to do that when I switched majors in college at 18 years of age. A degree in political science wouldn't do it. Even then, I saw the brokenness of our country, our world. And my inability to change it.

And so I gave up and became an advertising major. I can control what people like and dislike, I figured. I'm good at persuasive writing, creating interesting, fun ads and news stories that move products and services. In particular, I know how to entertain through advertising. And then I became disillusioned with that, as the conglomerates bought up everything media and the whole ad game changed, not for the better.

And always, I meditated and mostly pretended to live a Zen existence, as if it didn't matter what the idiots in Washington or the monsters in Bahrain did. But even with meditation today, I find I'm compelled to speak out, call out the idiots in Washington. And the monsters among us.

It's a broken system. People, we need to start screaming "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." People are losing their homes to banks while bankers claim $9 million bonuses. Each. Each year. From tax dollars we've given them, because they were "too big to fail." And we continue to foster the "trickle down theory" of giving tax breaks to the top 2%, the Kochs and the GEs. While the silent majority (yes, we've become those fools again) eats it. And pays for it. Find the error in that picture without being an economist. It's not hard.

We continue to war when in 2011, we've had a long enough history on this planet, for even the dimmest witted of us to see that war only begets more war, more awfulness.

The mean, greedy bastards who make millions sucking off the American political system want to cut "Obamacare" and Medicare and everything else that even halfway portends to good social services for our citizenry. While we pour trillions into a war machine that only cripples our young who serve and those upon whom we wage this incessant madness.

We are a corrupt government. We are no better than Egypt. In fact, the economic disparities and social inequalities are scary similar. And I'm afraid that economically, we're closer to Greece. Or Rome, when Nero fiddled. Arrogance is going to do us in.

I think I understand why Americans are so fat. We overeat because we're trying to escape this crude, unequal system under which we live where the middle class is taxed to death. Where we borrow to the hilt from those to whom we give aid, like China. While the Cheneys and the Department of Defense contractors continue to profit on war that only destroys everything.

I'm mad as hell. I'm going to meditate now.

Chrysler, Audi & "Badvertising"

I'm watching auto companies waste even more money. This time, on "badvertising": Advertising that misses the mark, that's not consistent from medium to medium, that's created by a handful of agencies. Splintered messages. Nothing focused. Nothing that's going to move a lot of product.

From the flap with @ChryslerAutos dropping the F bomb on Twitter, after the (I think) brilliant use of Eminem's brand to relaunch Chrysler during the Super Bowl, I'm amazed at how many snafus and guffaws the advertising industry makes today. Methinks it's because the big agencies are too big. Purchased by conglomerates, like all media related industries today. And thinking social media too small to fight for, to keep it under their roof. Wieden & Kennedy does brilliant TV for Chrysler, but some obviously clueless company is tweeting? And tweeting poorly. W&K should be handling the entire account. That's the way ad agencies used to work. And we'd fight to keep all the biz under our one roof. So everything matched.

No so, today. Social media has gotten away from the good, creative agencies. They either don't understand it or they think it's insignificant. It's not. It's imperative. And it needs to be wrapped into the overall branding efforts, along with the TV, print, online, out-of-home, etc.

Audi's recent big deal at the Super Bowl, where they were going to make a huge statement with social media, was a disaster. And they didn't. I retweeted our Hawaii blogger who was in their social media contest and never once looked at the Audi advertising. Didn't even know it was for Audi, really, as the hashtag was something really stupid like #ProgressIs. Had not a clue what it was even about. And Audi's tweets are boring, product placement only. So I unfollowed them.

Ad agencies need to get their acts together and be the full service marketing arms they once were. The creative and the clients are suffering.